With the exception of Samsung, nearly all manufacturers that have relied on Qualcomm have been met with chipset delays, forcing them to push back announcement dates of their flagships due to lack of sufficient Snapdragon 835 units. Xiaomi’s Mi6 is also a victim of the complex manufacturing process on the 10nm FinFET architecture and it looks like the flagship might not be able to compete with Galaxy S8 on the same timetable.

Xiaomi Mi6 Announcement Date Might Be Pushed Back After Month of April

According to sources close to industry chains (via ITHome), the next Snapdragon 835 shipment from Qualcomm is expected to be given to manufacturers after the month of April, suggesting that Mi6 and all its rivals ranging from OPPO to OnePlus will also have to wait extensively to incorporate those SoCs on their own flagships. This could mean that the official announcement date of the Xiaomi Mi6 is pushed back to the month of May, but we cannot say how certain it is because of the unfavorable yields of mass producing 10nm FinFET chips.

Previous reports have stated that even chipset manufacturers such as MediaTek have been forced to push back dates for their own high-end SoCs due to this setback so it might take a while before supplies reach a higher level. Both TSMC and Samsung are struggling to mass produce a favorable amount of 10nm FinFET wafers, but thanks to Samsung’s own foundries, it gives the South Korean giant a competitive edge in the market.

This is not the first time that Xiaomi has had to push back the announcement date of its flagship. Previously, it was reported that the company decided to start work on its own chipset (which later became known as the Surge S1) after Snapdragon 820 shipments were inadequate for the Chinese manufacturer to send massive units of its Mi5 into the production and distribution phase. Xiaomi has also been reported to be working close to Samsung on its own 10nm FinFET SoC, but we will see that in action towards the end of this year.

For now, Xiaomi will have to rely on Qualcomm, but these countless delays in Snapdragon 835 will definitely be hurting the company and testing its patience greatly.